By Alisha LeVine and Brenna Hadley of College Democrats
I’m sure many of us remember where we were when we learned the results of the 2016 Presidential Election. The Trump presidency spun American politics on its head. A businessman with zero political, policy or military experience assumed the position of Commander-in-Chief. Typically, a newly elected president makes attempts to unify the nation in this period of transition. Trump, a former reality TV star, basked in his love for political turmoil. He prioritized the top 1% in his policies, cast distrust of American public media and spread incendiary misinformation until the very democracy this nation was founded on was violently attacked.
What did Trump accomplish? He rolled back hundreds of crucial environmental protections that regulate our air, water, wildlife and poisonous chemicals. He handed out corporate tax cuts for America’s wealthiest. He appointed three conservative Supreme Court justices who stripped protections for women’s reproductive rights. He withdrew from crucial multilateral agreements such as the Paris Climate Agreement and the Iran Nuclear Deal. He left a nation barely hanging on, ravaged by COVID-19 with no vaccine distribution plan, not to mention the damage done by racist disinformation.
We watched insurrectionists attack Capitol Police and smash windows in the Capitol all while calling for the killing of Mike Pence, all while Trump sat on Twitter in the White House, refusing to make a statement. And don’t get it twisted: there was no widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. Trump-appointed judges and voter data experts hired by Trump’s campaign like Ken Block have proven so.
Since then, the Biden-Harris Administration has implemented some of the most significant legislation we have seen in decades. The $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill provided billions of dollars to state and local governments allowing major investments in roads, bridges and broadband. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act was the first federal comprehensive gun safety legislation in 30 years. The American Rescue Plan provided financial relief to help Americans get through the pandemic-induced economic downturn. To build upon Biden’s previous investments in American manufacturing, the CHIPS and Science Act was passed, providing billions for American semiconductor development and production.
The last four years haven’t been easy. The country has been left to grapple with the overturning of Roe v Wade; the loss of basic bodily autonomy that American women had been granted for nearly fifty years. Additionally, almost everyone’s wallets have felt the effects of inflation, and the fear of further U.S. involvement in Middle Eastern conflict is ever looming.
Now, more than ever, we need a decisive and sensible leader who will move us up the right path — we need Vice President Harris. A second Trump administration will be more unstable and destructive than the first. The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 plans a major government overhaul, banning life-saving abortion medication, dismantling agencies that report on climate change and eliminating crucial diversity efforts of universities and the executive branch. Our next president could possibly appoint even more Supreme Court justices to life terms.
Right now is a pivotal moment and an opportunity we must seize. Kamala Harris has common-sense plans to better American lives: building new homes and providing down-payment assistance so that we can afford property. She will work to codify abortion rights into law. She will push Congress to bring back the bipartisan border security bill that Senate Republicans killed earlier this year at Trump’s command. Her opportunity economy addresses serious American concerns in an attainable manner. She would call for the first-ever federal ban on price gouging on food and groceries.
Kamala Harris is the breath of fresh air our country desperately needs. Representing a new generation of leadership, she is a way out of the tumultuous political landscape that has engulfed our country for nearly a decade. She will move us away from dangerous lies, political violence, and the overturning of the most basic civil and political protections that our laws afford us. Let your voice be heard and say no to Donald Trump one last time, like your life depends on it!
This article originally appeared on page 22 of the No. 2 October 2024 edition of The Gettysburgian magazine.
